National Post has more on the Avid Life Media acquisition of HotorNot.
When I talked to the reporter, one of the first things I said was the it looks like Avid Life Media is angling for the Barry Diller/IAC keiretsu. (IAC, is actually breaking it’s business units apart.)
In the dating world, the closest analog would be Spark Networks (going, going, sol….!) or Think Partnerships, which bought and attempted to flip several dating properties. Previously, I noted that nothing says “we care deeply about creating long-lasting relationships? than being bought by a mining company involved in coal bed methane in the South Central Colorado region.”
According to Avid, “A site like HotOrNot’s audience is phenomenal. We’re going to turn it into a focus group.”
Sampling HotorNot members will be like going to a double-header featuring Brittney Spears and Marilyn Manson. Interesting concept, but is this the kind of demographic you want to be going after, or that corporations will pay to have access to?
Leave it along and keep making money, or monkey with the business model and see what happens. That book has two endings, and one of them isn’t pretty, for members or investors.
Conversely, HotorNot could be a tremendous asset for online focus groups, although I’m just not seeing it. Hopefully we’ll hear from Avid in coming months regarding their plans for HoN.
